The present invention relates generally to medical appliance securing devices and more particularly to a new and novel medical appliance securing device.
Various medical devices, or portions thereof, are shaped as generally tubular members, such as, for example, catheters, thermometers, i.v. tubing and various types of electrical wires. There is often a need to secure such devices to or near a patient's body so that they can appropriately function. In particular, catheters are medical appliances often used in surgical procedures for transporting various types of fluids to and from the body of a patient. Catheters are generally long, tubular conduits made from flexible materials and, in use, typically extend from the patient to a nearby stationary receptacle or to a source of fluid. As can readily be appreciated, it is often necessary to limit lateral and/or longitudinal movement of the medical appliance tube relative to the patient's body to insure proper placement and functioning of the catheter, as well as to offer some degree of comfort and mobility for the patient. In particular, some medical procedures require the application of a tensile force, known as traction, to the catheter, thus making it particularly necessary to firmly secure the catheter tube in its longitudinal direction.
To provide the necessary restraint, practitioners initially used strips of conventional, medical-grade adhesive tape to secure the catheter tube directly to the patient's skin. This method proved unsuccessful, however, because the tape would tend to become loose, and because each time the catheter was adjusted or temporarily removed, it was necessary to also remove the adhesive tape from the patient's skin, thus causing significant irritation and discomfort.
Various types of catheter securing devices were subsequently developed to provide the desired restraint and to overcome the disadvantages associated with the use of strips of adhesive tape. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,250 to Thomas, issued Jul. 18, 1972, there is disclosed adhesive tape for anchoring to a given substrate, elongated members such as surgical tubing or the like, consisting of at least one anchoring tab portion with strap means extending from the tab portion for wrapped engagement with the tubing, the strap means being connected to the tab portion in a manner to prevent peeling and separation of the tab portion from the substrate upon tensioning of the strap means, the tape being selectively used in a manner to (1) restrain the tubing against both lateral and longitudinal movement relative to the substrate; or (2) restrain the tubing only against lateral movement while permitting longitudinal movement relative to the substrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,380 to Boyd, issued Sep. 10, 1974, there is disclosed a holder for tubular items, particularly equipment used during intravenous injections, such as infusion tubing or the hub of an injection cannula. The holder comprises a strip of adhesively-backed tape and a longitudinally split, elongate, cylindrical, clamping tube of flexible and preferably resilient plastic material securely attached to the top of the tape. A latch for positively keeping the clamping tube closed about a received item may be provided, preferably in the form of a securement flap attached to the clamping tube at one side thereof and interlocking means having component parts attached, respectively, to the securement flap and at the opposite side of the clamping tube. For holding both an injection cannula and infusion tubing during the administering of an intravenous liquid, two or more clamping tubes may be provided in juxtaposed position on a single piece of tape.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,748 to Johnson, issued Aug. 28, 1979, there is disclosed a simple easily applied one-piece catheter tube holder originally made flat and comprising two main parts having adhesive thereon for temporary attachment to the limb of a patient, there being a narrow bridge also provided with adhesive and connecting the two main parts, said narrow bridge being foldable in the center thereof to form a double member, and having fasteners such as snap fasteners or Velcro for holding the same in position to releasably hold the catheter tube in the desired orientation to the patient.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,894 to Kovacs, issued May 1, 1984, there is disclosed a band for securing a catheter or similar device to a limb of a human comprising a stretchable primary strap adapted to encircle a limb. A part of the strap is made of a soft looped fabric and the strap also carries a male Velcro-type fastening material which cooperates with the looped fabric to enable the strap to be secured in place about the limb. A second strap made of a flexible material is secured, hooks up, intermediate its ends to the central portion of the primary strap on the looped fabric. The secondary strap is made of a male Velcro-type fastening material, and each end of the secondary strap is designed to be looped over and encircle the catheter or similar device and attach to the looped fabric to hold the catheter or similar device securely in place on the limb.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,348 to Hasslinger, issued Feb. 11, 1986, there is disclosed a separable fastening device for supporting a medical device such as a catheter tube or the like to a limb of a patient. The device includes a first and a second strap member. The first strap member includes a flexible first strap section formed of a knitted textile material having upstanding from one surface a plurality of multifilamentary loop-like elements and a polyurethane foam substrate secured to the opposite surface. The first strap member also includes a second strap section which is formed of a flexible tape member having upstanding from one surface a plurality of hook-like elements which matingly engage with the upstanding filamentary loop-like elements of the first section so as to be attachable thereto at the respective end portions to form a complete flexible first strap member. The second strap member includes a third strap section formed of a flexible tape member having an adhesive coating on one surface and a plurality of hook-like engaging elements on the opposite surface. The adhesive surface can be wrapped about the catheter tube and thereafter the hook-like elements can be matingly engaged with the loop-like elements of a portion of the first strap section. Upon encircling the first strap section about a limb and enfolding it over the the third strap section, the hook-like elements of the second strap section can matingly engage the loop-like elements of the first strap section to secure the catheter tube in relation to the limb.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,017 to Hubbard et al., issued Oct. 14, 1986, there is disclosed a personal catheter leg strap for the securement of any one of a plurality of differently sized catheter tubes, the strap including a first section of gauze type material and a second section of elastic type material joined together at a junction for wrapping about a limb. A Velcro-type strip attaches the two free ends of the first and second portions together. A catheter tube securing strap is attached at one end thereof to the junction and has two portions, of which one portion is narrower throughout its length. An orifice is disposed in the broad portion and is dimensioned such that the entire length of the narrow portion is insertable therein. The securing strap has a free end thereof wrapped around a catheter tube one revolution and inserted through the orifice. Within the one revolution, protruding members protrude inwardly into the exterior surface of the tube, firmly securing it to the strap. The strap is wrapped an additional approximately one-half revolution about the catheter tube and is attached at any of an infinite number of locations on the surface with the Velcro-type surface of the securing strap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,736 to Kalt et al., there is disclosed a clamp for holding an article to an object, the clamp including a base means for adhering the clamp to the object, a flap, securing means for securing the flap to the base means with the article positioned therebetween and resilient pad means having an adhesive surface for contacting the article. The securing means includes a first holding means for holding a first portion of the flap and a second holding means for holding a second portion of the flap. Both holding means may be releasable. The second holding means is spaced from the first holding means a sufficient distance along the flap for the article to lie between them. Resilient adhesive surfaces are provided on the flap and base means for contacting and adhering the article.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,700 to Tollini, issued Dec. 11, 1990, there is disclosed a securing tape for securing to a patient's skin or to a support, a medical device such as tubing, a catheter, an intravenous needle or the like. The securing tape includes an elongated tape having base portions and a central tab formed integrally therewith, pressure-sensitive tape on the base portions and on an exposed window of the tab, and hook and pile fastener portions on opposite sides of the exposed adhesive on the tab and on the base portion facing the exposed adhesive.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,322 to Bowen et al., issued Sep. 15, 1992, there is disclosed a medical appliance securing device for laterally and longitudinally securing generally tubular members having various diameters to any desired location on the surface of a patient's skin or other support. The invention comprises an anchoring patch having one surface coated with adhesive for bonding the device to a patient's skin or some other support. A retaining tab is connected to the anchoring patch and contains an aperture such that the retaining tab may be wrapped around the circumference of the tubular member, inserted through the aperture, and firmly secured to the anchoring patch through the use of fastening means.